He walked to where Daniel was still being questioned by a couple of agents, one from BCA and one from the FBI, both of whom looked to Cork as if they’d only just turned old enough to shave.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Agent Shirley needs Officer English.”

“Shirley?” the FBI agent said.

“She’s BIA-MMU,” the BCA agent told him. “We’re pretty much finished here anyway. Go ahead, English.”

Agent Shirley introduced herself to Daniel and explained what they were about to do. Daniel gave his okay.

“Are you ready, Waaboo?” Agent Shirley asked.

The little boy nodded.

Jenny took her son’s hand and they stepped inside.

Rainy, Annie, and Maria sat under an umbrella on the deck of the Four Seasons hotel, which overlooked Iron Lake. The surface of the lake was mirror-still, reflecting a sky that was a soft cornflower blue. The day was already warm and on the humid side.

“This reminds me of a lake in Guatemala,” Maria said.

“Atitlán?” Annie said. “But we need a few volcanoes.”

“The water is so blue, so inviting.”

“The air reminds me of Guatemala, too,” Annie said. “I’ll be sweating bullets pretty soon.”

“Will you go back right after the wedding?” Rainy asked.

Annie caught Maria’s eye and looked away quickly, studying the lake. “I’m not sure exactly what I’ll do.”

“We’d love to have you stay as long as you’d like,” Rainy said. “Both of you.”

“Thank you,” Maria said. But Annie was silent.

“I would like to go back to that place,” Maria said. “Where we were yesterday? What do you call it?”

“Spirit Crossing,” Rainy said.

“Yes. I would like to help there, if I can.”

“I’m sure any help you give would be welcome. I’ve been there many times with Belle and Stephen. Things have turned ugly more than once.”

“Maria knows what it’s like to fight the tyranny of bullies,” Annie said, smiling.

Maria put a hand over Annie’s. “In my experience, we stand firm against the bullies only if we link arms. The more arms, the better.”

The waiter brought them the coffees and scones they’d ordered. Annie and Maria were on an outing to find a suitable gift for Stephen and Belle’s upcoming wedding. They’d brought with them from Guatemala a brightly embroidered huipil blouse for Belle and a traditional shirt of handwoven corte fabric for Stephen. But they wanted to find something to give as a combined wedding present—a serving dish or piece of pottery, perhaps. Also, Cork had called and filled them in on what was going on at Paavola’s cabin and they’d hoped to distract themselves from dwelling too much on that tragic situation.

Still, like a powerful magnet, the discovery of Olivia Hamilton’s body at the cabin pulled their talk in that direction eventually.

“It is a terrible thing,” Maria said. “I am sorry for the grief of her parents.”

“I can’t help thinking that although it’s terrible, to know nothing forever may be worse,” Annie said. “I think about all those still missing in Guatemala.”

“Or the family of Crystal Two Knives here,” Rainy said.

Annie felt a prickle on her neck, the sense that someone was standing behind her. She turned, but no one was there.

“What is it?” Maria said.

Annie dismissed it. “Nothing.”

When they’d finished their coffee, Rainy said, “I’ll let you two go on with your shopping. I want to browse the bookstore. Text me when you’re ready and we’ll meet back at my car.”

As they rose to leave, Annie turned and saw a man sitting at a table some distance away. Despite the heat, he wore a stocking cap pulled low down over his head. He looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t quite place him. He appeared to have been watching them, but when she looked at him, he turned away and seemed intent on studying the cornflower blue reflection on the surface of Iron Lake.

Inside the cabin, Cork felt cold even though the day outside was already warming so that it augured a scorcher. He wasn’t sensitive in the way that Stephen and Waaboo were, but he was sure the cold wasn’t a physical thing.

The agents of the FBI and BCA were about their work, mostly climbing into and out of the lower room. Agent Shirley herded her group to a corner where they wouldn’t interfere with any evidence collection.

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked Waaboo. She stood with a protective arm around her son.

“Uh-huh,” he said with a nod.

“Would you like us to be quiet, Waaboo?” Agent Shirley asked.

“It’s okay.”

“Do you feel anything?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What do you feel?”

“They’re worried.”

“They? Do you know who they are?”

Waaboo shook his head.

“Is it Olivia?”

“I don’t feel the dark anymore. I think she’s gone now.”

“Can you focus on them, Waaboo? These others?” Agent Shirley was eager, Cork could tell, but trying to be gentle with the little boy.

“Okay.” Waaboo closed his eyes. After a moment, his little face squeezed up as if he was in pain.

Jenny dropped to her knees and hugged him to her. “It’s okay, Waaboo. I’m here.”